Ever since Wrestlemania 32, the WWE future for The Undertaker has been questionable. WWE fans have been waiting over six months now to find out if we’re going to see him wrestle again on the grandest stage of them all, or even in a WWE ring before finally retiring.

Those rumors about him hanging up the boots have been going on for years, but the news that Undertaker was telling people in Dallas that his career is over shook the WWE Universe. Father Time is undefeated, and not even The Phenom can escape aging. However, the problem isn’t that The Undertaker is retiring. The problem is that WWE fans wanted the foresight to know that they were seeing the last match of his career.

If it were up to the WWE Universe, he’d never stop wrestling. Unfortunately for them, the decision is in his hands. In twenty-four appearances on the grandest stage of them all, he’s only lost once. The WWE fans don’t want him to go, but facing someone like John Cena at Wrestlemania in his twenty-fifth match at the event is a perfect ending to his career. However, a new update is threatening his WWE career indefinitely.

[Image by WWE]

Although several names are rumored to face The Undertaker at Wrestlemania every single year, this year offered some of the most interesting matchups we’ve ever seen. Finn Balor would be a great kid to put over on the greatest stage of them all. The WWE Universe has been begging to see Sting vs. Undertaker for many years. John Cena still remains the most likely candidate, but recently something else has come to light.

It has been reported that The Undertaker would be returning to WWE programming for the WWE Royal Rumble, which will be held in the Alamodome in San Antonio for the first time in twenty years. The odds of Undertaker making his return to WWE at that event were extremely high. The belief is he’d be feuding with the current WWE Universal Champion Kevin Owens for Wrestlemania 33 in Orlando.

While all of these possibilities are good or even great choices for what could be The Undertaker’s retirement match, some recent health updates on him have threatened his status for Wrestlemania 33 entirely. In fact, they may have made the choice for him. Recently, Undertaker was seen in some new photos using crutches, which has the WWE Universe collectively asking why. For better or worse, the WWE fans have their answer.

[Image by WWE]

According to a new report that was just released, Undertaker recently underwent hip surgery, which is the reason why he’s been using crutches. They seem to be more for support than a necessity, because he’s been seen walking normally, but taking a stroll on a Sunday night and wrestling in front of tens of thousands of people are two completely different things. The fact is Undertaker may not be ready for Wrestlemania.

On paper, his kind of surgery takes between three to six months of recovery time. Obviously, there are many factors that determine that, including age, physical condition, and just the general healing process. The belief is The Undertaker just got the surgery, so if six months is the maximum amount of time barring any more complications, he’d miss Wrestlemania by only a few weeks. Of course, all this remains unconfirmed.

The jury is still out on when or even if The Undertaker returns to WWE programming. Before his health got in the way of his WWE return, the rumors were claiming that he wasn’t on the best of terms with WWE and Vince McMahon anyway. WWE fans are going to have to wait awhile longer, but a lot of people need to begin getting used to the idea that we’ve seen the last of The Deadman, or we’re about to very soon.